Back on the Map: Adventures in Newly Independent Estonia

by Marc Hyman

The year is 1992. The smallest of the former Soviet republics has recently regained its freedom following a half-century of repressive occupation. Estonia is back on the map. What happens next? This evocative memoir vividly captures the frantic yet optimistic spirit of an extraordinary moment in time, providing a detailed and moving account of daily life in a country undergoing dramatic change just a year after the collapse of the Soviet empire. In these pages you’ll become immersed in this tumultuous period and meet a fascinating procession of real people—Estonians and Russians, students and teachers, capitalists and Communists—as they struggle to rebuild their lives and make ends meet in a collapsing economy while working to reinvent their battered nation. The author, recruited to teach at the first private university to be established in the former Soviet Union, candidly recounts experiences that are by turns grim, hilarious, and poignant.

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2020

About the author

Marc Hyman lived in Estonia through most of the eventful 1990s. He taught accounting and finance at the Estonian Business School and at Concordia International University Estonia (now Tallinn University of Technology), served as Tallinn Bureau Chief for The Baltic Observer (now The Baltic Times) and as Managing Editor of The Baltic Business Leader, and worked as a consultant for Hansabank, North Estonian Bank, and Virumaa Commerce Bank.

Marc's accounts of day-to-day life in the newly independent Baltic States and Russia have been published in AjaKaja, Crosscurrents, Yours Truly, and Europe Today. He lives in Seattle.

Reviews

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I knew where Estonia was on the map before picking up this book. I've met a few Estonians working overseas and this book I eagerly dove into to learn more about a place I'd love to visit. This was a unique perspective, as Estonia was once again independent and brand new. I found myself smiling and nodding at many of the scenarios that Marc faced, and my small familiarity with Russian words made many of the phrases fun to read. Unique perspective.